Hoping to renovate the spare room of my house into a "man cave" this winter and would like to collect a few early Matchbox and Corgi toys. If you have any you wish to sell please PM me. Prefer models still in the box but will consider loose/mint examples

It is funny, Todd, but I have been watching ebay auctions for Hot Wheels, Corgi Toys, Dinky Toys and Matchbox. I am not looking to buy, but I sure enjoy seeing something I remember from 40~50 years ago new-in-box or in typical played-with condition. Either I had them or one of my gang of friends had them. My mom surreptitiously would thin out my stuff, and after I got married all my models, most of my toys, Corgi, Matchbox etc brochures, plus all my 1970s National Lampoon mags along with Wheelspin News, plus all Playboy & Penthouse got chucked without my knowledge or consent. Allegedly that is the secret to keeping a clean house. Luckily my brochure collection that I started nearly 50 years ago is still around (although scattered in storage).

Ebay is gettting really bad for fake models being sold on there. Typically someone will repaint a model in a rare colour. You can even buy fake rivets that go into the holes drilled to remove the bodies from the chassis! Even the original boxes are being reproduced. I follow a Matchbox collectors page on Facebook and many folks are getting duped. I had hundreds of rare Matchbox and Dinky models (including a few pre-production models) that I sold 20 years ago to buy the 58 Plymouth. Luckily I kept all the books. I still have a few Corgi trucks from the early 70's. I do like some of the Corgi Classic trucks and buses that came out in the late 90's and would consider them if the price was right.

Ebay is gettting really bad for fake models being sold on there. Typically someone will repaint a model in a rare colour. You can even buy fake rivets that go into the holes drilled to remove the bodies from the chassis! Even the original boxes are being reproduced.

Yes, you should see the character car (e.g. Batman, 007, Monkees, Green Hornet etc.) car market, lots of repro stuff. I know how to spot some Batman fakes/repros, but not all.

Luckily, I bought all my Corgi, Corgi Junior, and Husky Batman vehicles way back (1979 and earlier) for a good price and before the repro/fake times.

I cringe when i think of all the nasty things all of my younger siblings did to my toys. My Hot wheels from 1968 to 1971, Corgi, Match box and Dinky from the 1960's, all of my tin toy cars including a 1958 Ford retractable from the late 50's to the late 60's. I could not keep anything nice with five younger sisters and a younger brother. I look back sometimes with anger that all of my stuff was either wrecked or went missing, including model cars from the 60's to mid seventies, car magazines and music records from the same era. Anyone that says it is great to have a bunch of siblings needs a shake. My mom was always a sweet heart and never took any of my stuff, just the little punks.

I was guilty of destroying my own toys. There is only one survivor from my childhood- a "Corgi Major" Mack semi with a flat deck trailer and a Centurion tank. The only real reason it survived is the rear axle was slightly bent which meant it mostly sat on a shelf in my room. Everything else was crushed, burned or both.

Todd, there is an ad in the most recent issue of Old Auto's newspaper that might help you. The ad states " Match Box Cars " Corgi, Tonka from 60's and 70's, most mint condition. Phone (905) 580-4117. Oakville, Ontario. You might find some of those treasures that you are looking for. Cheers. George

I was guilty of destroying my own toys. There is only one survivor from my childhood- a "Corgi Major" Mack semi with a flat deck trailer and a Centurion tank. The only real reason it survived is the rear axle was slightly bent which meant it mostly sat on a shelf in my room. Everything else was crushed, burned or both.

None of my stuff survived in good enough condition to have any value. They either sat outside in the weather, got used and abused and beat up, or got repainted which renders them worthless.

I also fell prey to the over zealous Mom. I went into the military and when I returned I did not immediately go to my parents house and clean out the closet. At some point when I did check for my stash of mainly AMT models, the closet was empty. I don't know why, no one else ever moved into my old bedroom. It was vacant until my parents sold the house and moved up north in retirement.

Funny this has come up now as my son is coming over tomorrow with the family for Thanksgiving Dinner. I will be ambushing him to some extent as I have cleaned all his sports related memorabilia from the basement. I have 4-6 boxes and storage containers sitting by the door, ready to go into his car for the trip to his house. He has a very big house with a nice basement so now is the time. Plus, his son will be 13 next month, so time for them to relive his teen years.